


You Set My Heart Aflame

by astral_dreams



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Asexual Character, Badass Martin, By that i mean georgie/melanie, Canon typical Lonely, Depression, Desolation! Martin, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, He burns a lot of things !!, It diverges around Prentiss, M/M, Manipulation, Misunderstanding, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Slow Burn, The Graphic violence is just a lot of arson, This Baby Can fit so many Fire Metaphors, canon typical worms, more tags as I go along, no beta we die like men, sasha will be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:28:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24912382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astral_dreams/pseuds/astral_dreams
Summary: There's a flame in Martin. A small fire waiting to be ignited. And when it comes to fruition during Prentiss' siege, the course of his life changes - for better or worse.
Relationships: Alice "Daisy" Tonner & Jonathan Sims, Basira Hussain & Melanie King & Alice "Daisy" Tonner & Jonathan Sims, Basira Hussain/Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Elias Bouchard/Peter Lukas, Georgie Barker/Sasha James/Melanie King, Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley, Helen | The Distortion & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, I'll add important friendships as i go, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood & Agnes Montague, Martin Blackwood & Jude Perry, Martin Blackwood & Melanie King, Martin Blackwood & Sasha James & Gerard Keay & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Tim Stoker, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sasha James & Tim Stoker
Comments: 7
Kudos: 55





	1. The First Flame

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to a pet project I have. For some reason desolation Martin is something I find a lot of joy in, so I decided to finally write something out. This fic is a bit more serious than the others I'm working on/haven't touched since the first chapter (looks nervously at Not them Support Group), but I really do hope to be consistant with this.
> 
> The chapters will probably be shorter, for my own sanity, but I'll try to post more frequently. I'm also a bit worried that some of the characters are a bit too OOC, but I hope that doesn't take away from it too much. Enjoy!

Martin felt sick. Even staring at the offending can made his stomach lurch. It was one of the last cans he had of the peach variety and he knew he had to eat it  _ eventually _ . But he thoroughly didn’t want to. He felt like he had eaten enough of these goddamn peaches to last for 3 years. But the worms weren’t stopping and some had even started to come through cracks in the doorway and Martin had scrambled to make a barricade out of the few pieces of furniture he did have. He was so glad they couldn’t jump.

The knocking came again, as loud and insistent as ever, causing Martin to flinch. No matter how many times it came, it never got easier. Especially since it didn’t sound like a human knocking. Instead it just sounded like a mound of worms hitting the door over and over again. He hates it, but he can’t tune it out. All he can focus on is the wet  _ slapping _ and how much he wants it to be gone.

Gone. What he wouldn’t do to have the worms  _ gone _ . Gone from his house, gone from his life, gone from this world. Just  _ gone _ . Before he could realize it Martin was making his way to the kitchen, heading straight to where he kept his candle lighter that was never used. The frustration kept building in him and he felt like he was about to snap. He had tried so many things to get rid of his tormentors, but he never thought he would turn to arson. Oh well. The spark has already been lit.

In hindsight, Martin was only surprised about how freeing the whole thing was to him. He lived in a cheap apartment building, and so once the door was aflame he was out. Kicking it open and running for what felt like ages until he was two blocks away. From then it was just a phone call to the fire department and the ECDC about Prentiss and he was off to the Archives, not wanting to stick around any longer. Not when the worms were still fresh in his memory.

During Prentiss’s siege on his apartment Martin had packed a duffel bag of his things in case he needed to escape, mainly to keep himself sane and occupied, but now he was glad for it. His clothes, personal effects and whatever he had for hygiene were all in the bag. His possessions were scarce as is and he doubted anything would survive the fire.

Still high on the adrenalin he had gotten from the flames, Martin reached the Institute quicker than he expected. The building was imposing as always, but now it gave him a sense of security. It seemed permanent in a way. Like the history inside and around it would prevent the spark inside Martin that was rearing to get another chance at destruction from getting too wild.

Walking inside only served to dull the flame even more. This wasn’t the fire’s realm and Martin wasn’t sure whether to be happy about that or not. So he simply chose to be tired. The flame’s rush had finally been extinguished and the thin line of energy that had kept him going through those three weeks was gone. All he could think of right now was getting down into the Archives and napping at his desk. And so he did, resolutely ignoring the shouts of concern from his coworkers in favor of slumping down against the wooden surface.

* * *

As it turns out, sleeping for more than 2 hours at a desk does not feel good. As Martin shifted in his half sleep he could hear hushed whispers around him. His coworkers seemed to have gathered around him as he slept and were obviously waiting for him to wake up. Blinking away the sleep in his eyes, Martin could make out Tim and Sasha at their desks and was that  _ Jon? _ Jon leaning against the wall. Huh. He didn’t usually come out of his office, so why was this special. He didn’t pay it much mind as he was more focused on their concerned looks.

“Uhm. Good morning?” he tried awkwardly.

“Good morning Martin. Are you quite all right?” Jon answered from his spot on the wall.

Martin gave a nervous laugh.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you’re covered in soot and have been gone for three weeks. Excuse us for being worried,” the answer came with an eye roll from a tired Jon.

Martin looked down to where he was indeed covered in soot and gave an involuntary chuckle. The ends of his shirt were almost burnt of and he was pretty sure his pants were going to be permanently stained. When he looked back up at the three, Jon’s words finally caught up to him. _ They were worried about him.  _ Jon _ was worried about him. _

“I really am fine, no need to worry,” he tried to placate.

Sasha looked unconvinced.

“I’m not saying you’re not fine, but you did give us quite a scare. Do you feel comfortable telling us what happened?” she asked in a comforting voice.

So putting his anxiety aside, he did. He told them about going to Vittery’s basement, ignoring Jon’s look of concern at that. He told them about seeing Jane, the siege, the worms, and eventually got to the fire. He couldn’t help the excitement in his voice when he got to burning Prentiss and had to stop himself to assure them he was not an arsonist.

The other three stayed quiet through his story, only sneaking glances at each other with worry still in their eyes. Tim seemed the least concerned when he came to the fire, while Jon and Sasha both looked worried for different reasons. When he stopped, there was silence for a few seconds before Jon of all people spoke up.

“I suppose you’ll be needing a place to stay. The Archives have a cot if you want, granted nothing happens to it,” he said matter of factly, even if the last part seemed more snide than anything.

Well, Martin did need somewhere to sleep for now. Might as well live in the Archives. What could go wrong?


	2. Late Night Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit nervous because I feel that this chapter might be ooc, but oh well. It's finally here after like 2 weeks. Sorry it's so short slkdfj

Martin woke up to the sound of a tape recorder. Normally he would pay this no mind, as the room with the cot was just an extension of the Head Archivist’s office, most likely left over from Gertrude’s time. But normally the lights weren’t on at 3 in the morning, according to his clock, and normally Jon wasn’t still here and… recording a statement? Still half asleep, Martin stumbles to the door and opens it.

“-I find it very hard to believe in the statement given, as Ms. Muller states repeatedly in it that she had this experience after a party and severely intoxicated. While I can’t exactly disprove that creepers exist on public transport, the notion that this one in particular isn’t human because of quote ‘too long limbs and a fake sounding voice’ is utterly ridiculous,” Jon was ranting into the recorder as Martin walked into the room, “Now, I would have suggested that Ms. Muller take an uber home if she was truly worried about public transport creepers and maybe not get so drunk next time. Statement en- Oh, hello Martin.”

Martin was startled out of his tired listening to Jon’s voice and gave a little wave.

“Hello Jon. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering why you were recording a Statement at 3 am of all times. Shouldn’t you have gone home hours ago?” he asked with a pointed glance at the clock.

Jon at least had the decency to look sheepish at the realization. It was obvious how tired the man was, the already present under eye bags seemed magnified. As did his weary presence. It was clear he needed sleep.

“Ah- yes. I suppose I last track of time. It does happen when I’m working sometimes. No need for concern,” he responded, waving Martin off.

“Usually I could understand getting caught up in work when it comes to you, but it is three in the morning Jon. You shouldn’t even be in the building. If anybody wasn’t here, what would you have done? Work until the rest of us got here? That’s not healthy,” Martin scolded, still half asleep and frustrated at Jon.

“Well that’s what I would usually do. I’m quite alright taking care of myself, but since the cot is taken I figured I might just work through the night. It’s not that bad, I can usually make it until 4 before needing to sleep. Thank you Martin, but there is really no need to worry,” Jon grumbled.

Martin frowned before going to leave. Something stopped him though.

“Jon, are you mad at me for taking the cot?” 

It really was a dumb question, but now it seemed incredibly obvious thanks to the tone in Jon’s voice. The other man sounded bitter, if not a bit annoyed as well. At Martin’s question, Jon turned to him with a look of indignation as well as a bit of shock on his face.

“Of- of course not! Why would you insist such a thing? It’s not like you came barreling in here talking of worms and fire, making everyone worry for both your safety and sanity in one sitting. I can deal with supernatural worms, sure, but sorry if I’m scared that you’re going to burn something here too! It’s dumb, I know, but it scares me. So, no Martin. I am not mad at you for taking the cot, I’m concerned that my assistant is sleeping at his workplace after being taking captive by worms for three weeks and burning them!” Jon spat out.

Martin couldn’t think of anything else to say, choosing to quietly nod and make his way back to the cot as he waited for the shock to wear out. He didn’t sleep well for the rest of the night, not that he had before or anything, but what Jon had said stuck to him. Were the rest of them really paranoid about him turning into some pyromaniac? Is that really all they thought of him? 

Waking up the next morning was an experience. His body hurt from tossing and turning and Martin was pretty sure his back was going to be hurting all day. But worst of all, he felt numb. He was a bit ashamed to say that he had done quite a bit of crying last night and the emotional exhaustion hadn’t quite left yet.

Shaking thoughts of last night out of his head, Martin got up and slowly made his way to the break room to start making some tea for himself. He needed to wake up and prepare himself for going back to work. It wasn’t going to be fun for him, if the exhaustion he felt was anything to go by, but he would have to make it work.

As he was getting the things he needed for his tea, he slowly drifted into a sort of state of calmness. This was routine and it could almost lull him into having a false sense of security. Which was immediately shattered by the soft sounds of footsteps behind him. 

A voice called out to him, “Martin?”

He turned around to see Jon standing there, looking by all accounts rather sheepish.

“Yes?” he asked in a strained voice.

Jon sighed, “I wanted to apologize for last night. I’ve been a bit high-strung these past few days and what I said last night was partly because of stress. I didn’t mean to insinuate anything and I hope that you can forgive me for it.”

Martin was silent for a minute, taking it what was happening. Jon was… apologizing? Huh. Not knowing what else to do he simply nodded.

“It’s ok. Do you want some tea?”

Jon smiled at that and for a bit Martin decided that things were ok.

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic is one I'm very excited for, probably my first really planned out long tma fic. So Kudos and Comments are always welcome!!


End file.
